Garden Grounds

Tucked away from the cobbled streets and historic, Southern architecture in downtown Wilmington is a hidden, lush jungle positively teeming with dinosaurs. Sure, the dinosaurs are toy figurines, but with reality ever so slightly suspended in the backyard at Hidden Grounds Coffee, you could be in any serene locale of your choice, surrounded by greenery and sipping your daily coffee.

TAYLOR PFYFFER, one of three owners of Wilmington’s latest coffee shop, says the trio focused on maximizing the outside area so it would “allow people to spend more time outdoors, which unfortunately, we don’t always get an excuse or place to do.”

Pfyffer co-owns and operates the shop at 21 South 2nd Street, tucked in front of the City Club of Wilmington’s grounds, with her fiancé, JOSH SKIDMORE, and her friend/soon-to-be-sister-in-law, CAITLIN SKIDMORE.

“It’s a family affair,” Caitlin Skidmore says, “which is the best experience ever and just so cool that we’re close enough to be able to do something like this.”

The trio grew up in Mooresville, with Pfyffer and Caitlin Skidmore becoming best friends in high school and Caitlin eventually setting up her friend with her brother. Caitlin Skidmore has been bartending for the past ten years, while Pfyffer and Josh Skidmore are the co-owners of The Exit Games, an escape room business with a location downtown.

“We do not come from the coffee industry,” Pfyffer says. “We come from the coffee fandom though. And we’ve always wanted to do this together. We thought it may happen ten years down the road; we thought we’d be baristas for a little bit, but this opportunity presented itself. We had to sort of ask ourselves, ‘OK do we take a heck of a hard learning curve and go for it? Or do we maybe look back someday and regret inaction?’ So, we chose to take the risk, and we are so grateful we did.”

Anyone who has driven past Hidden Grounds since its grand opening has likely deduced that the trio made the right choice with that risk. With a fairly consistent line out the door, the coffee shop has quickly gained a solid customer base.

“We couldn’t ask for a better turnout,” Caitlin Skidmore says.

“I don’t know that we’ve truly processed it,” Pfyffer adds. “You know, when we’re grinding, we don’t really look at the line outside, we just kind of stay in our lane. But we do want to make sure that every person – whether they’re walking in during a rush or at 3:59 when we close our doors – feels welcomed.”

The trio has made it this far by both leaning on their shared bonds and individual strengths (as well as an iron-clad veto policy that has served them well). While all three are graduates from UNCW’s Cameron School of Business and are “super creative people,” they have unique abilities they’re each bringing to the table.

“Taylor is a master communicator,” Caitlin Skidmore says. “Josh is the hardest worker I know,” Pfyffer says. And Caitlin is best when flexing her ability behind the bar, both navigating the hustle and bustle, as well as developing the menu items for Hidden Grounds.

Standout items from the menu – in addition to classics like cappuccinos and drip coffee – are the Cold Fashioned, Salty Dino, and Minty Matcha. “The Cold Fashioned is our bougie, pinky-up drink,” Caitlin Skidmore says.

“It’s for the espresso lovers,” Pfyffer adds. “It’s a triple shot of espresso that we shake with a couple of dashes of bitters and a little bit of simple syrup. We shake it, strain it over a coffee cube, and garnish it with a dehydrated orange and Luxardo (maraschino) cherry. It’s definitely our prettiest drink.”

The Salty Dino is “for those that prefer more flavor-forward” and is shaken espresso, salted caramel, and vanilla. The Minty Matcha is matcha, with vanilla and mint and, according to Pfyffer, “is cool, refreshing, and you can drink it any time of day.”

Before guests make it out to the picturesque backyard of Hidden Grounds, they’ll surely notice a framed black-and-white photo of a man donning a cowboy hat with a pack of cigarettes in his pocket: Skidmore senior, Josh and Caitlin’s father. “That’s our Marlboro man,” Caitlin Skidmore says. “Our dad worked for the tobacco company back in the day, and they always had a cowboy riding a horse. So, for our merchandise, we put our cowboy on a dinosaur.”

The team has big ideas for future events, vendor pop-ups, yoga classes, and even something they referred to all-knowingly as “Jazzy Sundays.”

“We definitely have a lot of ideas we want to pursue,” Phyffer says, “when we have a little bit more time to work on the business instead of in the business.”

To view more of photographer Megan Deitz’s work, go to megandeitz.com.

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